Vanquished

by Vivi Anna

  With a deep sigh, Hades examined his chains and to where they connected to the ceiling. Now comes the tough part. Unhooking himself. And he needed to do it quickly, before any more dwellers came by and noticed that his tormentor was lying dead at his dangling feet.

  * * *

  Kat swallowed audibly as the rat-man wheeled in a metal tray with metal instruments neatly laid out on it. She’d never been tortured before. She’d been beaten, stabbed, even trampled by a horse, but never tortured for long periods. She had a high pain tolerance, but she didn’t think she would be able to stand this. And it wasn’t like she could just tell him a secret or some information to get him to stop. He wasn’t torturing her for information.

  Baruch was doing it for his own amusement.

  He selected a long straight razor from his tools and held it above her body. Kat tried to move. She told her arms to lift up and knock the weapon from his hand. They didn’t listen. All she managed was a jerk on her right shoulder as if she was shrugging to a question she couldn’t answer.

  He grinned down at her with almost a sympathetic twitch to his mouth. “Do not panic, my dear. I’m just simply removing your clothing. I can’t sample your luscious body again when it’s covered by filthy material, now can I?”

  Baruch gripped the collar of her t-shirt and sliced at the fabric. In one quick swipe, the shirt was rendered in two. He gently laid aside the pieces exposing her bare breasts to the cool air.

  He gazed down at her fleshy orbs and sighed. “Exquisite.”

  “If you stop now, I might let you live,” she said with as much bravado as she could muster.

  Baruch laughed and shook his head. “That is exactly why I want you for my mate. You’re so damn exciting. Isn’t she fantastic Sar?”

  The little rat-man nodded and leered down at her. “Yes, my Lord. Fantastic.”

  “You see, even Sar likes you. And Sar doesn’t like anyone.”

  “I’m honored.”

  Baruch continued to chuckle as he grabbed hold of her leather pants. He frowned then relinquished his grip. He set down the razor. “You know we needn’t ruin these. We can just undo them and slide them down your legs. I might even let you have them back after we’re done.”

  “How generous of you.”

  “You’d be surprised how generous I could be, Katarina.” He slid his hand over her cheek and trailed it down to her breasts. He ran his fingers over her nipples gently stroking them with each pass.

  She shut her eyes against the treacherous waves of pleasure that washed over her. Her body was responding to him from deep inside. Whatever it was that raced wildly through her blood stream recognized him. His smell. His touch. And it craved that connection desperately.

  He moved his hand over her stomach to the zipper on her pants. He slowly pulled it down opening the fly.

  “Take her boots.”

  Sar moved to her feet and unbuckled her boots. He pulled them off, including her socks, and dropped them to the cement floor.

  Kat fisted her hands at her sides as Baruch slowly pulled her pants down. He had some trouble as her skin was slick with sweat, but he managed to slide them down her legs with minimal effort. He dropped them onto the floor next to her boots.

  As he moved up to her side, he trailed his fingers over her leg with feathery touches. Kat clenched her jaw trying desperately not to moan. It was nearly impossible to fight the sensations that assaulted her body. Her mind told her she didn’t want this. That this man was a filthy creature of the sewers. But her body yearned for him. For his light or rough touch. Her cunt ached with every flicker of his finger, with every breath from his lips. She was in a vibrating state of arousal and had no way to fight it. If only he would end her suffering and give her release, she could still assimilate her senses and muster enough strength to escape. But she knew that he would never make it that easy.

  Baruch hummed as his fingers neared her sex. He brushed them lightly against her mound then continued up her body. He swept them over her nipples again but with harder swift strokes. He squeezed one between his thumb and index finger, rolling it back and forth.

  “I see behind your eyes, that you still think you can escape.” He tugged hard on her nipple. She winced and moaned lightly.

  “But I will not let you think, Katarina. I will do anything I want to you so that you can’t think, but only feel…me. Then and only then will I release you.”

  Baruch reached over to the tray and picked up two metal clamps with a little length of string attaching them together.

  “You’d be surprised what we’ve been able to find over the years. Things from our past. Instruments of exquisite pleasure to me.” He held them over her breasts. “And to you, my dear, Katarina.”

  Kat watched in awe as Baruch attached one clamp then the other to her nipples. She felt the pressure and pleasures instantly. He watched her face intently as he adjusted the force on each nub. She squirmed under the sensations that thrilled her body. Each nipple sent jolts of pleasure zinging down her body, settling in deep within her cunt. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter as the tension on her rigid peaks increased.

  Baruch grinned as she grimaced in rapture. “You see the delight I bring you. Why fight me so hard? I could promise you a lifetime of this and more.”

  He twirled the string around his index finger and tugged on it, pulling on her nipples. Kat bowed her back as surges of rapture washed over her.

  He held out his hand toward Sar. The little rat-man picked up another metal clamp from off the tray. This one was longer, about 3 inches, with little beads handing from the end. Kat tried to get her mind around its purpose. But she could hardly think while Baruch continued to tug at her nipples.

  “I find this little instrument very interesting.” He grinned as he let go of the string on her tit clamps.

  He moved down to her sex. He brushed at her mound like petting an animal. He slid his finger into her cleft and twirled it around.

  “You are so wet, my dear. I fear that this will take you over the edge. I will go slowly so that you do not.”

  With his finger and thumb, he spread her inner folds. He positioned the clamp over her, opened it and slid it down into her cleft. He found her clit easily.

  Kat sucked in a ragged breath as he slid the clamp over her aching nub. He closed the arms around it, pinching it in between. Spears of pleasure stabbed her body. She could hardly breathe as jab after jab of sensations pierced her flesh.

  He chuckled. “I see that you like my new toy.” He pulled on her nipples again. “If you surrender to me, you could experience this at your leisure and mine, of course.”

  Kat wanted to move off the cement block. She wanted to reach down and pull off the clamp on her clit. She didn’t want to delight in his tortures. She didn’t want to beg him for more. Squeezing her eyes shut against the barrage of ecstasy, Kat prayed that she could resist him. Surrender sounded more and more savory by the minute.

  Static crackled overhead from speaker in the wall. “Lord Baruch, we have a problem in the chain room.”

  Baruch frowned and withdrew his hand from Kat’s sex, pulling the clamp off. She groaned and writhed in regret. She was almost there. One more pinch on her clit and she was sure to explode.

  While he wiped his hand on his robe, he addressed Sar. “Keep her entertained, but no fucking. That is my privilege alone.”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  Kat watched at Baruch left, noticing that he didn’t shut the door all the way. She turned back to Sar, her body still humming from arousal and near climax. Even the breeze from the open door caused ripples of pleasure over her flesh.

  Sar leered down at her, drool dribbling from the side on his thin mouth. She grimaced and turned her head away.

  “You’ve got me horny as a bull.” He touched her gingerly as if touching a revered religious idol. “I can’t put my dick in your cunt.” He moved his hand over her mound, dipping his fingers into her hot slick cleft. “But he didn
’t say anything about putting it in your mouth.”

  Sar brought his hand up to her mouth rubbing his wet fingers over her lips. Kat licked them eagerly. She needed release now. She couldn’t go another minute without it. She grabbed his other hand. He flinched at her sudden movement but didn’t pull away as she dragged them down to between her legs.

  She bent her legs and spread them wide apart, placing his fingers at her clit. Her voracity gave strength back to her limbs. She put her hand on top of his and guided him to just the right spot. She pushed his fingers down hard onto her swollen achy nub and moved it quickly back and forth. Sar groaned as she continued to suck on his fingers and guide his hand.

  “Ooh bitch, you are something else.”

  Kat could feel her orgasm peak. She closed her eyes against the intense surge of pleasure that pounded into her. She moaned loudly against the fingers in her mouth. Her legs and whole body convulsed. In that one moment as the heated sensations of her orgasm poured over her, she felt herself go. It was like she was floating on a white fluffy cloud in the brilliant blue sky. She felt at peace. Seemingly, the two warring sides in her body had finally signed a truce.

  Sar tried to pull his fingers out of her mouth. But she continued to suck on them hard. “Careful there, wouldn’t want to bite me.”

  Kat squeezed her eyes shut and clamped her teeth around his digits. She bit down hard. Hot salty blood spurt into her mouth. It tasted like sugar as it dribbled down her dry throat.

  Sar screamed and yanked his hand away. He was minus two fingers and counting. He cradled his bloody hand to his chest. “You stupid bitch! You’re going to change now.”

  Kat sat straight up and smirked, her lips smeared crimson. “Hey, I needed a change anyway.”

  She moved her legs quickly, spinning around and kicking Sar in the head. He stumbled back but didn’t fall. Kat jumped off the cement block and rushed at him. Along the way, she filched the razor from the metal cart.

  Two well-placed swipes later, Sar lay on the cement floor, bleeding…badly. Kat grabbed her pants and boots putting them back on. After removing the nipple clamps, she tore off the rest of her shirt. It was useless. She glanced down at Sar and smiled. His tank top was red now and ripped in one place, but it would do.

  Fully dressed and armed with a straight razor, Kat moved to the door and peeked out. The passageway was empty. She had to find Darquiel and get her to show the location of the Monolith. She had come this far and she wasn’t leaving without it. By the sounds of the commotion in the chain room, she assumed Hades had escaped. That suited her fine, because now she wouldn’t have to worry about him and she could do what she came for.

  * * *

  Hades crept down a deserted passageway with Nemo’s wife slung over his shoulder. He needed to find a way up, take her out, and come back down for Kat. He wouldn’t leave without her.

  As the passageway opened up into a large open area, Kele started to mumble incoherently. The woman had been through more than he could ever imagine. According to Nemo, she had been taken over a month ago. That was a long time to be in the sadistic hands of the dwellers.

  Hades murmured to her quietly and continued. A steep set of metal stairs was at the end of the room. They went up to another level. That was all he cared about. Up was good.

  He held her tightly and ran through the room. Just as he reached the stairs, he felt a presence behind him. He whipped around, the knife he confiscated from Urzla in his hand.

  “What are you wearing?” Kat stood there a hand on her hip staring at him.

  He sighed and closed his eyes. Oh thank the Gods, he thought. He grinned and glanced down at himself. After disposing of Urzla with a twist of his powerful legs, Hades took off her pants and shirt. He couldn’t be running around naked now could he?

  One problem was that neither of them fit too well. She was a big girl, but he was larger. The pants fit around the waist but were too short. The hem came to mid-calf and the shirt was tight and constricting, showing off his rippled abdominal muscles.

  He laughed but it soon faded when he really noticed her. “You’re covered in blood. Where are you hurt?”

  Kat shook her head. “Relax, it’s not mine.”

  He studied her closely. Somehow, she didn’t look the same. Her face seemed paler and her eyes darker. Even her cloudy one. Could be the trick of the waning light, but he didn’t think so. She was different.

  “Did they hurt you? I feared the worse.”

  “Nah, nothing I couldn’t handle. Besides I took a bite out of them before they could do anything worse.”

  Hades froze as he realized the truth behind her flippant comment. She had taken blood. The change was upon her. He had been too late to save her.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’ll deal with it. Let’s just do what we came to do and get the fuck out of here.”

  “Okay, let’s take her out, and then come back.”

  She shook her head. “No, if we leave we’ll never get back down. They’ll have guards all over the place.”

  “What do we do with her? I won’t leave her.”

  “Take her out. Get somewhere safe. I’ll get the Monolith and meet you top-side.”

  “We shouldn’t split up.”

  “Don’t you trust me?”

  Hades grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “I do trust you. That’s not why I don’t want to split up.”

  When she looked at him, he spied something like regret on her face. Hades could see the war within her. The one between her heart and her mind.

  “Take her out, Hades. You’re the hero in this tale. Save her.”

  “And who are you in this?”

  “The tragic heroine with several character flaws and counting.”

  Hades chuckled softly. He knew what she was doing. Making it easier on him to leave. But no matter what she did, it wouldn’t be easy.

  He nodded and leaned down to press his lips to hers. She turned her head at the last moment and he pressed his mouth to her cheek. He nuzzled into her hair, whispering into her ear.

  “I love you, Hell Kat. No matter what, always remember that.”

  She pulled away from him and nodded. As she turned to go back, Hades swore he saw tears running down her cheeks. But it could’ve been the trick of the diminishing light. He shuffled Nemo’s wife on his shoulder and began climbing the metal stairs up. With each step he took, the feeling of loss overwhelmed him. He feared he would never see Kat again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Kat crept down another dark passageway. This was the second she had passed without running into anyone. She found that very disturbing since they’d both escaped. Wouldn’t they be crawling all over searching for them? She was certain that Baruch would not let them go so easily. So, where was everyone?

  She really needed to find Darquiel. But she knew that was almost impossible. Like finding a mouse in a maze. Maybe, if she relaxed and opened herself, she could touch her mind. If Baruch made Darquiel and she could feel him, then maybe she could touch Darquiel. She had made Damian who had made her. She supposed it was worth a shot.

  Slinking down into a crouch against the cement wall, Kat took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to empty her mind. Or so she assumed. It made sense that she would be more susceptible to psychic links if her mind was free of fear and thought…

  Blinding white pain squeezed her brain.

  She clamped her hands over her ears and curled into a ball on the floor. It felt like her head was going to explode from the pressure inside. Dark incoherent images flashed behind her eyes. They flashed over and over in a repeated pattern. It felt like she was being blinded from the inside out.

  It stopped abruptly and Kat opened her eyes. White spots floated in her vision but, thankfully, she could still see. She took in some deep breaths, willing her heart to slow from its frantic pounding.

  She had touched something. Several somethings. One had been very big. She couldn’t see it, but got a sense of its
size just from the pressure it drove into her mind. And she touched something very familiar. Darquiel.

  Kat pushed herself up to stand. Her legs wobbled, but she stood firm. She started down the passageway, moving towards the feelings lingering in her mind. Something was waiting for her.

  She crept down the passage on guard for anything. Soon it ended and opened up into another large area. The smell hit her immediately. A dank putrid odor not unlike the smell of animal feces.

  She stepped across the room quietly and slowly. She scanned the area as she moved, but there were too many dark corners and shadows to be able to see everything. As she moved into the center of the room, she had a sense of something shuffling in the corner by a tall metal pillar. She stopped and peered into the dark.

  A soft growl erupted from the shadows. It wasn’t a deep growl, more like a loud rolling of the tongue. She wondered what would make that kind of sound, but didn’t want to stick around to find out. Kat ran across the room toward the exit.

  A large green animal stepped out of the shadows and into a beam of light. Kat gasped and skidded to a halt. It scampered toward her, but was pulled back by the metal chain that tethered it to the post.

  Kat had never seen or read about anything like it. It had dark mossy-green shiny skin like a snake. And it was big even as it hunkered down on all fours like an obedient dog. To Kat, it looked like an overgrown lizard with thin-slatted, red eyes. As it pulled on its restraint and whined like a sad puppy, Kat noticed it also had wings. They were tucked securely into its thick body.

  It was a mutated animal of some sort. Combinations of traits from different species like a reptile and a bird formed this creature. As Kat watched it, she realized it meant her no harm. She had touched this creature in her mind. It had left a feeling of sadness and despair in her head. It was a prisoner just like her.

  She took a step toward it, her hand held out. “Hey there Ugly, whatcha in for?”

  The creature cocked its head to one side as if in question. Its little ears on the top of its head flickered.

  Kat frowned. “Can you understand me?”